''Seldom Disappointed: A Memoir'' is the 2001 autobiography of author

Tony Hillerman Anthony Grove Hillerman (May 27, 1925 – October 26, 2008) was an American author of detective novels and nonfiction works, best known for his mystery novels featuring Navajo Nation Police officers Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee. Several of his w ...

. The title reflects the attitude that he learned as a child living on a farm in

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

; if one learns not to have unrealistic expectations, one will often be pleasantly surprised and seldom disappointed.

Reception

The work was well received, with the ''

New York Times Book Review ''The New York Times Book Review'' (''NYTBR'') is a weekly paper-magazine supplement to the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times'' in which current non-fiction and fiction books are reviewed. It is one of the most influential and widely rea ...

'' stating that Hillerman "is an expert at knowing what to leave out, and at making what he leaves in cut to the bone without seeming overwrought", and further that the prose is "laced with humor and worldly wisdom"; stating that "''Seldom Disappointed'' is a splendid and disarming remembrance of things past". It was also well reviewed by David Langness, for ''

Paste Paste is a term for any very thick viscous fluid. It may refer to: Science and technology * Adhesive or paste ** Wallpaper paste ** Wheatpaste, a liquid adhesive made from vegetable starch and water * Paste (rheology), a substance that behaves as ...

'' magazine, who called the book "touching", "modest" and "powerful", and stated that "''Seldom Disappointed'' unfolds with the quiet country cadences of the storytellers that consistently suffuse Hillerman's prose" and praising its "hilarious, perverse black humor".

Awards

*2001

Agatha Award The Agatha Awards, named for Agatha Christie Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English people, English author known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short ...

, best non-fiction work * 2002 Anthony Award, best non-fiction / critical work *2002

Macavity Award The Macavity Awards, established in 1987, are a group of literary awards presented annually to mystery writers. Nominated and voted upon annually by the members of the Mystery Readers International, the award is named for the "Macavity, mystery cat ...

nomination, best biographical / critical mystery work

References

{{Tony Hillerman 2001 non-fiction books Books by Tony Hillerman Agatha Award–winning works Anthony Award–winning works HarperCollins books Books about New Mexico American memoirs